


The Captains' Wives

by Captain Natasha Riker-Troi (textsfrompicard)



Category: Star Trek - Various Authors, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Titan
Genre: F/M, Female Friendship, Gen, Inspired by Novel, Marriage, Military Families, Missing Scene, Parenthood, Post-Canon, Protectiveness, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26683897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/textsfrompicard/pseuds/Captain%20Natasha%20Riker-Troi
Summary: Beverly seeks out Deanna’s advice after an illusion she has concerning her husband is shattered.
Relationships: Beverly Crusher & Deanna Troi, Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard, William Riker/Deanna Troi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10
Collections: Star Trek Holidays 2020





	The Captains' Wives

**Author's Note:**

  * For [refusetoshine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/refusetoshine/gifts).



> This story takes place circa April 2384, and is meant to be a missing scene from the second Cold Equations novel Silent Weapons, but I tried not to give away any major plot points (except of course for the one which precipitated Beverly’s contacting Deanna). Also, Picard and Riker don’t actually appear themselves in this fic, but Beverly and Deanna talk extensively about their relationships with them, so that’s why I put those relationship tags here.

It wasn’t until Beverly had finished dictating to the computer Deanna’s personal comm code and the screen before her was flashing the words SUBSPACE CALL INITIATED… PLEASE WAIT that she realized she had no idea what time it was on the Titan. For all she knew, she could be trying to call her best friend in the middle of the night. Maybe it was a mistake to try for a face-to-face call when she didn’t even know if Deanna would pick up, never mind whether they would manage to get a real-time connection, what with the Titan being deep in the Beta Quadrant seeking out new life and all that jazz (possibly a literal expression where Captain Will Riker was concerned). But it wasn’t like she was going to get another opportunity anytime soon, with everything that was happening. René was finally in bed, and Jean-Luc was in yet another late-night meeting of a classified nature. Besides, she felt like she needed to talk this out with her old friend. As kind and competent as Counselor Hegol was, Beverly felt like the Enterprise-E had lost something vital when Deanna left.

The letters on the screen abruptly stopped flashing, and the smiling face of Deanna Troi faded into view. Her office was visible in the background. “ _Beverly! This is a nice surprise. It’s lucky you called today; on a whim Will decided to decree this Take Your Child to Work Day, so guess who I get to spend half the day with._ ” She reached down and lifted up a squirming toddler, nestling her on her lap so that she was facing the screen. “ _Tasha, say hello to your Aunt Beverly.”_

“ _Hi Aunt Beverly!_ ” squealed Tasha excitedly. She waved her right arm wildly about in the air like one of those ancient inflatable tubes that used to stand sentinel in front of 21st-century car dealerships. Deanna smiled and wrapped her arms around her daughter in a (perhaps futile) effort to keep her still. Beverly couldn’t suppress a grin at the sight of the lively young child. “She’s growing up so fast. It seems like she was only a baby the last time I saw her.”

“ _Well, she was, at least developmentally speaking._ ” Deanna gently stroked her daughter’s hair, and Tasha momentarily stopped fidgeting and snuggled into her mother’s chest. “ _Dr. Ree says she’s developing relatively quickly for a human child, but he’s not sure how much of that to attribute to her Betazoid ancestry or to the Caeliar’s treatment._ ” Her eyes grew distant for a moment, and she smiled with remembered grief. “ _Frankly, I couldn’t care less either way. I’m just happy she’s developing at all._ ”

“So am I.” Beverly’s eyes briefly misted over, recalling the hardships Deanna and Will had gone through in conceiving a child. They deserved only the happiest of endings, and thanks to a near-miraculous turn of events, they had at last gotten it. By seeming coincidence, she and Jean-Luc had also decided to have a child at around the same time, although they’d had a far easier time with the technical side of it than Will and Deanna had. They’d had their own share of problems, though. Beverly had had a devil of a time convincing her husband to take a chance and start a family; he’d already suffered so much hardship and loss in his life, he was afraid of bringing a new life into the world only to end up losing it. But he had at last overcome his trepidation, and their son had been born two and a half years ago. Until recently, it had all seemed like smooth sailing…

“ _Beverly?_ ” With a start, Beverly shook herself out of her reverie and noticed Deanna’s face looking back at her with an expression of concern. “ _Is everything alright?_ ”

With some chagrin, Beverly realized she had zoned out and completely forgotten Deanna was even there. “I’m fine, Deanna. Just a little distracted. It’s… been a busy week.”

“ _Do you want to talk about it?_ ”

Beverly sighed heavily. “That’s why I called, but… there’s a lot that I _can’t_ tell you, as much as I’d like to. Most of it the Enterprise isn’t even supposed to be involved in, but you know this crew. Even with only a small fraction of its original members, we still manage to get embroiled in all kinds of shenanigans.”

Deanna grinned. “ _Those were a crazy fifteen years, weren’t they?_ ” On her lap, Tasha reached for a toy starship that was sitting on Deanna’s desk, and began moving it through the air while making little _whoosh_ ing noises.

“Yes, they were.” Beverly smiled wryly for a moment, then grew serious. “There was… an incident. We were at... a diplomatic reception that included President Bacco, and an… assassin tried to interrupt the proceedings. I don’t know if the assassin’s target was the president, the impera-- another planetary leader, or someone else, but Jean-Luc and I were standing right in the line of fire. Before I realized what was happening, he-- he pulled me to the ground and used his own body to shield me. He chose to protect _me_ , rather than the president.”

Deanna was alarmed. “ _Is the president all right?_ ”

Beverly nodded. “She’s fine, don’t worry. Nobody was hurt except for a few of her protection detail. But that’s not the point. The point is, I thought I had married a different man. A man who would put his duty to Starfleet and the Federation above all other considerations, including… family. There were two-- at least two heads of state with their lives hanging in the balance, and his first instinct was to protect _me._ ”

Tasha began to fidget again, seeming to react to Beverly’s increasingly irate tone. Deanna stroked her hair again and kissed the top of her head, which seemed to soothe her. The counselor looked back at her friend. “ _Maybe you_ did _marry a different man. Parenthood has a way of changing people. Will and I fought a lot while we were first trying to conceive because his overprotective tendencies were asserting themselves, and he kept trying to rearrange my duty schedule to give me more time off. And that was before I was even pregnant. He’s gotten better at it over the years, but his overprotectiveness still flares up every now and then. I can’t say I mind it that much, though-- it’s a side effect of how much he loves me, and I would never trade_ that _away._ ”

“I’m not saying I would, either, but--” Beverly cut herself off, feeling a growing sense of frustration, although she wasn’t sure if it was with Jean-Luc for defying her expectations, or with herself for having them in the first place. “It’s like I kissed a frog expecting him to turn into a prince, and instead he’s just… a man. I thought I had a hero, but instead I have a husband.”

The corners of Deanna’s mouth twitched. “ _How tragic for you._ ”

Beverly rolled her eyes. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re not taking this seriously?”

“ _I am, Beverly_ ,” Deanna insisted. Tasha gave an enormous yawn that seemed to require the use of her entire body, as little as it was, and she snuggled deeper into her mother’s arms. “ _But I think you might be overreacting just a bit. What the captain did wasn’t entirely out of character--_ ”

“But it was!” Beverly exclaimed. “I’ve known him a lot longer than you have, and in all that time I’ve never seen or heard him put anyone or anything before duty, or even suffer others to do so. Back on the Stargazer, Jack used to tell me the way Jean-Luc would react if he even so much as _suggested_ that my safety or Wesley’s should be considered during tactical situations. He wouldn’t even relieve _you_ of your duties after-- after what Shinzon did, and you’re like a daughter to him. And now here he is choosing my life and well-being over that of the president and possibly the entire Federation. It just… _reeks_ of hypocrisy.”

Deanna’s face went temporarily blank at the mention of Shinzon, but as Beverly finished speaking, her eyebrows shot up. “ _I don’t think the Captain is the only hypocrite here, Beverly._ ”

“What does _that_ mean?!”

“ _I may have been hiding behind my mental shields as much as possible, but even I could tell you were ready to punch him for speaking to me that way. You might have, too, if Shinzon hadn’t chosen that exact moment to kidnap him. You were angry with him for putting duty before personal considerations, and now you’re angry with him for putting personal considerations before duty._ ”

“But that’s— I’m not— I mean—” Beverly spluttered for several moments as Deanna watched with patient amusement. At last the doctor sighed. “Okay, maybe you have a point. But I’ve never had any illusions about myself. I’ve always put people first; it’s my job as a doctor. But the Captain is… well, the _Captain_. He _has_ to put duty first, by definition. He always has before, even when I wished he wouldn’t. When he was on the Stargazer or even on the Enterprise-D, he never would have done otherwise. I guess… I just thought that’s the man I married.”

Deanna fell silent for a moment, mulling over what Beverly had said. Tasha was now fast asleep, and her nose was whistling softly as she breathed in and out. “ _I think it’s safe to say the captain was a different man back then,_ ” she said, “ _just as he’s a different man now. He’s been through a lot over the years. The Borg, Gul Madred, the Kataan probe, losing his brother and nephew, losing Data…_ ” 

It took all of Beverly’s self-control not to flinch at the sound of Data’s name. Unlike Deanna, she knew that Data wasn’t gone for good, but she had to respect Data’s wish for anonymity for the time being. Besides, she wasn’t sure how much of the ongoing events were above their respective security clearances, and this wasn’t a secure channel. It was probably best to keep silent, even if it felt like she was being cruel to keep this a secret from Deanna, albeit temporarily. 

The counselor was still talking. “ _... the Borg_ again, _not to mention the countless other losses and soul-eroding experiences he suffered during the time we all served together. He can hardly be faulted for wanting to avert another such experience, especially given that he actually had the power to do so, which wasn’t always the case in the past._ ” She decided to refrain from mentioning Nella Daren or Kamala. Beverly probably wasn’t in the mood to hear about any of her husband’s former lovers right now.

Beverly sighed, more out of weariness than frustration. “I’m not trying to sound heartless here, Deanna. I know he’s been through a lot-- I was there. But…” she sighed again, and her frustration returned. “I want him to set a good example for René. It’s one thing trying to raise a child onboard a starship, quite another when he’s the captain’s son. The other children already treat him differently…”

Deanna’s brow furrowed with concern. “ _Has René had trouble making friends?_ ”

“No, just the opposite. He’s really quite popular; his teacher says he has a knack for taking charge and persuading the others to join his games. But his teacher is concerned about his future socialization if he and his friends all continue to grow up together on this ship, and frankly, so am I. Children tend to model their relationships on the adults in their lives, and on a Starfleet ship adult interactions are defined by a relatively strict military rank system, which means the officers’ kids tend to socialize together, as do the noncoms’ and enlisted personnel’s kids.” Beverly stopped and smiled self-consciously, realizing that this was probably nothing new to Deanna. “But look who I’m talking to. You’re a counselor, and you’ve been dealing with families being raised on starships for a long time, even before you started one of your own.” She paused again, considering. “How is Tasha doing with her peers? I know Will has a more easygoing command style than Jean-Luc, and it occurs to me that might be a factor.”

“ _Well, she also has a tendency to take the lead when playing with the other children. But I think that might have more to do with my influence than Will’s; I’m the one who spends more time helping out with T’Pel and actually being in the nursery and classrooms. I’m also the captain’s wife, so that kind of factors in as well. I’ve tried to teach her to share and take turns, but that tends to have a reverse effect where she overcompensates and refuses to take charge at all. But that’s normal; very young children tend to see things in black and white. Nuance and deeper understanding come later._ ” Tasha stirred in her arms and squirmed slightly, mumbling unintelligibly. Deanna cradled her closer to her chest and kissed her forehead, cupping the back of her head with her left hand. She looked back at Beverly, pondering something her friend had just said. “ _What did you mean, ‘if René continues to grow up on the ship’? Are you thinking of transferring, or leaving Starfleet altogether?_ ”

Beverly sighed again. _Wow, I’m doing a lot of that today._ “I don’t know. I was already worried about René’s socialization, and then Jean-Luc demonstrated his willingness to put his family ahead of his duty… He actually _said_ that, to my face, when I confronted him after the fact. He’s putting the ship and crew at risk by doing that! What’s going to happen the next time he has to choose between my or René’s safety and the success of the mission? Everything ended relatively well this time, but next time we might not be so lucky.” She paused for a moment and looked down briefly before meeting Deanna’s gaze again. “It might be best for our family if René and I left the ship for awhile.”

“ _And leave Captain Picard behind?_ ” Deanna sounded incredulous.

“I don’t _want_ to leave him, Deanna. I just don’t want to put him in the position of having to choose between his personal happiness and the greater good. Worf made that choice on Soukara, and that black mark in his record will never go away. A man _died_ because he chose to save his wife’s life instead. I don’t want something like that on my conscience _or_ on Jean-Luc’s.”

Deanna looked as if she was about to argue the point, but just then a small voice below Beverly’s right ear whispered, “Mama?” She looked down, startled, and saw her son in his Starfleet footie pajamas. “René? How did you get out of your crib?” Beverly gathered him up in her arms and held him close, running her fingers through his auburn hair.

“Had a bad dream,” René muttered, burying his head in his mother’s shoulder. She kissed the top of his head, whispering reassurances as she gently rocked him back and forth. That seemed to calm him, and Beverly looked back at Deanna and Tasha, pondering their parallel situations. “What would you do, if you were in my place?”

“ _You mean, if Will put my safety before that of the crew, or the mission, or someone like the president of the Federation?_ ” Deanna’s face looked pensive, and she considered the question for a long moment. “ _Well, he already_ was _in that position, during first contact with the Pa’haquel. One of their leaders held me hostage and threatened to kill me, slowly and painfully, if he didn’t give them the sensor data that allowed the star-jellies to fight back against their Hunts. But that would have meant the deaths of thousands of jellies, and I would never have forgiven myself for that. He knew how I felt, thanks to our bond, and even though it cut him up inside, he didn’t give in to their demands. Of course, you know that the jellies rescued me soon after anyway, and that we eventually brokered a peaceful resolution between the Pa’haquel and the jellies. There was another incident back when we first knew each other on Betazed, when the Sindareen took me hostage as they were trying to escape with the paintings they stole. And then there was the time he had to leave the away team behind on New Erigol in order to save the ship, which actually gave the Caeliar the opportunity to save our baby, although he had no way of knowing that at the time._ ”

Deanna paused for a moment and leaned forward, closer to the screen. “ _But the point is, he was willing to make the most difficult choice possible, and keep in mind this was after fifteen years of learning how to balance our feelings for each other with our duties as Starfleet officers. You and Captain Picard have known each other for even longer than that. I don’t see any reason why you two can’t work this out. You should talk to him again before you do anything rash like leave the ship. Your relationship has survived all of the changes in both of you up to this point, and your husband being… well, your husband, is far from a dealbreaker._ ”

Beverly nodded reluctantly as she gently rocked her now-sleeping son. “I’ll think about it. But our history is different from yours and Will’s; you and Will were lovers first, whereas to Jean-Luc I was his best friend’s wife, and later his widow. For all those decades he was never willing to cross that barrier, and now he’s…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “I guess I just wasn’t expecting him to change _this_ much.”

“ _Never underestimate the power of parenthood to change someone’s outlook on life._ ” Deanna smiled and looked down at her sleeping daughter, who was now sucking away peacefully on her right thumb. “ _Don’t_ ever _tell my mother I said this, but when I look back I can’t believe I waited this long to have a child. Tasha has brought me more joy and peace than I ever thought possible. I feel blessed beyond measure._ ”

Beverly’s smile mirrored Deanna’s. “So do I. I didn’t think I was ever going to have another child, but I’m grateful that I did. It was pretty lonely for me after Wesley left to become a Traveler, and it feels wonderful to be needed like that again.” She paused for a moment and chuckled. “It’s kind of a funny coincidence that we both started this particular chapter of our lives at around the same time. Our kids will probably grow up like cousins. Of course, they’re not _actually_ cousins.” She looked between the two sleeping children and chuckled again. “Wouldn’t it be a kick if we wound up in-laws?”

Deanna laughed aloud at the idea. “ _If I were more traditionally minded, Tasha and René would be genetically bonded already. René is the son of her father’s closest friend, after all. But after two generations in a row of the whole arranged marriage idea not working out, I’m not going to force my daughter into anything. She can marry whoever she wants._ ” Deanna kissed her daughter’s forehead and slowly rocked her back and forth.

Beverly’s eyebrows went up. “ _Two_ generations? Was your mother genetically bonded too, then? I knew about you and what’s-his-name-- it was something else with a W, come to think of it…”

“ _Wyatt,_ ” Deanna reminded her. “ _Wyatt Miller. And yes, my mother was genetically bonded to someone else before she met my father. It obviously didn’t work out, though. He was_ also _in love with someone else._ ” 

Beverly chuckled ruefully. “Sounds like a pattern. You’d think that a tradition with such a high failure rate would have died out by now.”

Deanna grew pensive. “ _Well, actually, it has, for the most part. Initially, Mother wasn’t going to bond either Kestra or myself, considering she had been able to find a husband on her own, and most Betazoids had given up that rather arcane practice by then anyway. But after Kestra died, she didn’t want to have any more children, which meant I was the only chance to continue the family line. She insisted that I be bonded to ensure that the Fifth House would continue to have heirs, and I suppose my father wasn’t willing to argue the point with her at the time._ ” Her gaze turned wistful. “ _Whether he would have found a way to get me out of it before the time came, I’ll never know._ ”

Beverly’s blue eyes shone with sympathy for her friend. She had also lost her parents at a young age, although she didn’t remember them nearly as well as Deanna remembered her father. “At least Wyatt wasn’t such a bad kid. He was actually quite personable, from what I remember.”

“ _Yes, he was very nice, and not unpleasant company,_ ” Deanna agreed with a chuckle. “ _I might have been comfortable with him, but… I wouldn’t have been truly_ happy. _I’m happier now, with Will and Tasha, than I ever thought I could be. I’m so glad we finally decided to give our relationship another chance. None of this would have happened if we hadn’t been willing to grow and change as people and take those changes into account._ ”

Beverly couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Whatever could you be trying to tell me, Deanna?”

Deanna grinned. “ _I’m just saying, people and relationships are always changing. You can either try to resist those changes, or go with the flow and see what happens._ ”

“You know, I think being married to Will has had a mellowing effect on you. You’re starting to sound like him.”

“ _And you’re starting to sound more like Jean-Luc. He’s learned to relax since marrying you. Just because he doesn’t necessarily put duty first anymore doesn’t mean you have to pick up the slack._ ”

Beverly looked down at the sleeping toddler in her arms, and remembered countless nights alone many years ago, rocking a different son to sleep as his father was off following his duty to his ultimate death. “Maybe you’re right. I guess I just need some time to process all of this.”

Deanna smiled knowingly. “ _Sometimes that’s all it takes._ ”


End file.
